The present invention relates to air mattresses generally, and more particularly, to an improved air mattress system with independently inflatable sections for providing improved support for a sleeper.
Air beds having independently inflatable mattresses for separate sleepers are known, but they could be improved. For example, currently available air mattresses may "bottom out" when the weight thereon is too high, resulting in an uncomfortable mattress. Single mattresses or pairs of independently inflatable mattresses connected together for separate sleepers may also create a rolling effect when one person lays down on the bed, resulting in the other person being jostled. Moreover, the support for the sleeper's body in many conventional air mattresses is not always satisfactory. Often, due to the sleeper's weight distribution, additional support is needed in the lumbar region. With conventional air mattresses, increasing the inflation pressure to provide the needed lumbar support results in a mattress which is then uncomfortable for the sleepers head and leg positions. Failure to provide adequate lumbar support may result in the sleeper sinking into a "valley" as the mattress compresses in the lumbar region and expand under the sleeper's head and feet due to the reduced weight distribution in those areas.
In many instances, air beds are intended to be deflated often (perhaps daily). For example, air beds used in camping or for temporary home use are deflated frequently. And in many foreign countries the bedding, whether an air bed or more conventional bed, is removed every day. Deflation of an air bed, however, is usually accomplished by letting the air escape through an air valve-sometimes assisted by the user sitting on the mattress as it deflates. Deflation under these circumstances is a fairly time-consuming process. It is, however, necessary to reduce the size of the air mattress for storage.
In those instances in which the air mattress is repeatedly deflated and inflated, it would also be desirable to reinflate the mattress to the same predetermined level each day so that a desired comfort (firmness) could be consistently achieved and easily identified. There are existing air mattresses with pressure gauges but those are not typically designed for the situation where the mattress is repeatedly inflated and deflated.